Pseudo noise sequences or PN sequences have a wide range of applications including spread spectrum communications, cryptography, coding etc. One of the uses is in wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) communication systems.
These PN sequences are commonly generated by Linear Feedback Shift Registers (LFSR), also known as a Linear Sequence Shift Register.
As shown on FIGS. 1 and 2, the LFSR includes an N-stage shift register, with some intervening exclusive-OR gates to program a specific PN sequence. The location of the exclusive-OR gates is determined by the defining polynomial of the circuit which in turn, determines which one of the possible sequences will be generated.
Present wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) systems are characterized by simultaneous transmission of different data signals over a common channel by assigning each signal a unique code. This unique code is matched with a code of a selected receiver to determine the proper recipient of a data signal. Base stations in adjacent cells or transmit areas also have a unique pseudorandom noise (PN) code associated with transmitted data. This PN code or Long Code is typically generated by a Linear Feedback Shift Register (LFSR), and enables mobile stations within the cell to distinguish between intended signals and interference signals from other base stations. Identification of a PN code requires the mobile station to correctly identify an arbitrary part of the received PN sequence. The identification is frequently accomplished by a sliding window comparison of a locally generated PN sequence with the received part of the PN sequence. The sliding window algorithm often requires the mobile station to efficiently calculate multiple offsets from the LFSR to match the received sequence.
In another application of an LFSR, the base station typically generates a PN sequence for the forward link by a combination of one or more LFSRs 100, 120 as shown in FIG. 1. The mobile unit is also generates a PN sequence for the reverse link with LFSR circuits 200, 220 as shown in FIG. 2. This PN sequence is used for quadrature phase shift keyed (QPSK) reverse link transmission. This transmission requires that the PN sequence be arbitrarily shifted by the number of chips equivalent to 250 microseconds for transmitting the in-phase component and the quadrature component. This arbitrary shift may vary with data rate.